Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
Were You Considering Testing Your Genetic Makeup for Disease Prediction? "The road to efficient genetic risk prediction is likely to be long.”
The Harvard team examined whether disease risk prediction would improve for breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis if they included the effect of synergy in their statistical models. They found no significant effect by doing so. “Statistical models of synergy among genetic markers are not ‘game changers’ in terms of risk prediction in the general population.” more »
The Marketing of the American Beauty
Advertisers turned to images of feminine mystique to which consumers could aspire (and hopefully emulate) through the purchase of goods and services. Men were also charmed by these images and magazine publishers used the attraction of pretty faces on their covers to boost impulse buying for their all-important newsstand sales. more »
MADE IN THE USA (from now on): Waiting For the 2014 Olympics
Julia Sneden writes: For me, the problem with the Olympic jackets and shirts boils down to this: Couldn’t our athletes just be resplendent young folk in well-designed red, white and blue outfits? Must they be walking billboards for Ralph Lauren’s company? They are supposed to be representing all of America, not just a single corporation. more »
Elaine Soloway's Caregiving Series: Four Times Around
Elaine Soloway writes: Just a few months after our first hellos and a sweet romance, little by little, Tommy moved in with me. Dozens of T-shirts, imprinted with running event logos, scooted my Gap T’s along the closet rod. I relinquished one dresser drawer, then two and when his well-worn running shoes jumbled onto the closet floor, my high heels and sandals adjusted. more »
